Beet-slicing machine



BEET SLIGING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

By Ja Z/Y/ZM fljzbcr M 8 e g ATTORNEY;

Nov. 20 1923.

D. H. SPICER BEET SLICING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1922 4 sheets sheet 2 ATTORNEYuS wmw Nov. 20 1923..

D. H. SPICER BEET SLICING MACHINE 9 9 TORNE Y BAWLW? Nov. 20 ,1923.

D. H. SPICER BEET SLIGING MACHINE Filed Fe 6, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 TPV w @W/ ATTORNEYK Patented Nov. 2%, i223.

DELmIN H. SPICER, 0F CLEVELAIID, OHIG, ASSIGNQB TO THE DYER ('JO MPAN CLEVELAND, OHIO, A QOBPOEATION QF OHIO.

Bnnr-smci vearson-Inn.

Application filed February 6, 1922. Serial No. 534,321.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, DELPHIN H. SPICER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county of Guyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Beet-Slicing Machines, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the invention being herein ex plained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The subject of the present invention is a slicing machine particularly adapted to the slicing or" beets for use in the obtaining of beet sugar. in slicing beets; for sugar making purposes it is desirable to obtain uni form slices both as to thickness and section and the present machine is adapted to slice rapidly and evenly, provision being made for adjusting the knives to regulate the out and to make successive cuts positive. Provision is also made for positively holding the beets against the cutting edges, instead of depending upon merely the weight of the beet as in previous machines, as when this is done, the beets tend to turn slightly under the action of the knife with the result that the beginning of the cut is thicker than the end.

Other means are provided whereby the knives may be removed for sharpening or because of breakage and blind boxes inserted in their places during the cutting opera tion so that the machinemay be continuously operated although at a reduced capacity. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, saidinvention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodyingthe invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings Fig. 1 is-a central vertical section through the present machine; Fig. 2 is a composite view showing a partial plan *iew of the ma chine with sectors B, and C in section as shown by lines BB, CC, and D-D of Fig. 1 respectively; Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the hoisting winch; Fig. 4i is a plan view of the hoisting winch; F ig; 5 is a sectional View of the knife holding and adj usting means showing various knife and box pos tions; Fig-{6 is a section through the knife and blind boxes showing the vertical adjusting means for setting the position 0 the knife box and knife; Fi 7 is a. sectional view on the'line 77, Fig. 6, showing the limit stop for the blind box; and Fig. 8 is an interior elevationof the knife boxes and knives.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the present machine is supported on a frame work of metal members 1, the machine comprising a base or bed plate 8 having a series of spaced guides 4: secured to its outer periphery by means of bolts 5 or the like. At spaced points about the base the guides t are provided with radially extending lugs 6 adapted to rest on the members 1 and be secured thereto by suitable bolts 7 to form a rigid device.

The bed plate has a central aperture 8 provided with a bushing 9 for a vertical spindle 10, ball bearings 11 being preferably employed in the bushing. This spindle is supported in a second bearing base 12 by both annular and thrust bearings 13 and i l. This spindle is provided with a bevel gear 15 in meshwith bevel pinion 16 mounted on a horizontal shaft 17 carried in suitable bearings 18. This shaft 17 is adapted to be driven from any suitable power source being provided, as here shown, with tight andloose pulleys 19 and 20.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the guides l extend vertically and are provided with grooves in their sides to slidably receive the knife boxes 21 and the blind'boxes 22. The grooves'23 in one side of the guides are deep and at points are cut through to the outside of the box to form openings 24 to receive adjustable spools 25 carried on adjusting screws 26 mounted in plates 27, the screws having a bearing 28 in the guide. The grooves for the knife boxes and the boxes are so arranged that the boxes can only be inserted or removed when the knife is out of'its cutting position, that is, when the spool is'aligned with the guide groove and the adjustment of the knife radially is only possible when the boxes are moved into their cutting level and in position in the spools thus making it impossible to remove or insort a knift except when it has been withdrawn out of its cutting position.

means of set screws 34 which hold the knife rigid against the inner face of the box. The inward position of the knife and thus the depth of cut is set by moving the box inwardly of the guides by means of the spools 25 actuated by the adjusting screws 26. The knife boxes are rigidly fastened in the ides bymeans of set screws 35 which pass through the boxes and engage with the guides.

These guides extend below the bed or base and between each two guides is mounted a knife box and below the knife box is mounted a blind box similar to the knife box in shape but closed and with no provision for attaching a knife. These blind boxes are furnished so that they may be moved upwardly to close the casing when it is desired to remove a knife box for any reason.

The machine is so arranged that the only way of removing the knives and knife boxes is by raising the blind boxes which push the knife boxes upwardly from below and similarly the insertion of the knife box is necessary to move the blind box down.

Within the casing formed by the bed plate, guides and boxes, is mounted a rotating run ner comprising a curved base 41 having an apertured central boss 42 adapted to be received on and secured to the driving spindle by means of a locking Washer 43 and nut 44. x This runner has a annular top plate 45 extending over the outer portion which is connected to and supported by a series of plates 46 which are of V shape having one curved side 47, the straight side 48 being provided with adjustable runner plates 49 adapted to be moved and positively locked so as to have their outer ends set a uniform distance from the knife edges. These plates 46 divide the runner up into a series of equal sized pockets open at both the center and the outside. The upper plate has an upstanding central flange 50 forming a mouth for the runner.

Above the runner is mounted a cover 51 secured to the upper ends of the guides by bolts 52 and provided with a central flange 53 extending into the flange 50 and forming a spout for the beets which are to be fed into the machine. The flange 53 is provided with an annular groove 54 to receive a revoluble ring 55 of a hoisting winch.

To facilitate the removal of the knife boxes a hoisting winch is provided consisting of the ring 55 revolubly mounted in wardly to surround a rack bar 59, a roller 7 being mounted on the ends tomaintain the rack bar in engagement with a. gear 61 mounted on a shaft 62 extending through the braces 55 and 57. This shaft is provided with a handle 63 by which the gear 1igoay be rotated to raise and lower the rack The rack bar is provided with a downwardly extending hook 64 adapted to engage in a complementary formed socket 65 in each blind box, as best shown in. Fig. 1, and by raising the rack bar the blind box may be raised forcing the knife box upwardly and out of the guides. It is of course necessary to loosen the knife box in the guides before raising the same for removal. In this way any knife and box may be removed and the opening between the guides filled simultaneously so that the machine may be continuously operated, the blind boxes being provided with a latch 66 to re-- tain them in position when raised as well as being provided with stops 67 to hold them in their lower positions.

'lVhen the machine is in operation with the runner revolving at full speed, the beets enter through the cover flange dropping into the runner and out into the pockets where the centrifugal force causes the beets to be forced out against the knife boxes and knives, or the blind boxes. The runner carries the beets past the knives cutting off successive slices, some few. of which will drop down on the inside to the bed plate where they are caught by angle plates 70 secured to the bottom of the runner and moved along angles 71 secured to the bed plate to holes 72 in the bed. 1

Around the entire machine is a casing 73 of sheet metal or the like supported on the frame work and formed into a hopper or chute at 1 the bottom to catch the sliced beets as they come from the'knives and the few which fall through the bed plate and direct them to any suitable point of removal.

When the machine i orginally set up the blind boxes are in position and the knife boxes are inserted from the top the grooves in the guides be-ingso placed that the knives are out of cutting position. When the latches of the blind boxes are released the knife boxes may be lowered to the cutting 1,474,797 ran position which is determined by seats on the blind boxes resting on plates 67 at the bottom of the guides, the height of this position of the knife boxes being adjustable as the knife boxes rest on adjustable set screws 76in the tops of the blind boxes.

After the vertical positions of the knife boxes have been set, the boxes are moved inwardly by means of the spools and ad justing screws until the desired slicing thickness is obtained. It is now that the vertical adjustment of the knife boxes may be made so each knife cutting edge will track in the previous cut so as to make the slicings of even sect-ion and once this position has been determined for each knife box, the boxes may be removed and inserted without further adjustment. When the knife box is finally adjusted in both directions it is locked by means of the set screws.

The present machine may be continuously operated and by substituting a definite number of blind boxes for knives may be run at reduced capacity so as to balance the rest of the factory if desired. The knives are preferably formed with serrated edges adapted to cut V-shaped sections from the beets and the vertical adjustment allows the knives to be set so that they track or cut in the ame grooves, thus cutting similar sections and full sections. The thickness of 'the slices, or the depth of the cut may also be regulated and these are important factors in slicing beets as losses in available sugar content increase rapidly if the slices are uneven. Other advantages are the ability to change knives and boxes while the machinevis'in operation and also to adjust the position of the knives while the machine is running so that the machine may be continuously operated.

ther modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and d1stinctly claim as my invention 2- 1. in a beet slicing machine, the combinatlon of an outer casing forming a dellvery hopper, a bed plate within said casing, a rotatable driving spindle extending through and above said bed plate, a series of guides secured to said plate and extending vertically, knife boxes slidably mounted in said guides, blind boxes also slidably mounted in said guides below said knife boxes, knives removably secured to said knife boxes, means for adjusting said knife boxes radially to adjustably position said knives to vary the thickness of the slice, a runner mounted on said spindle and rotatable therewith, said runner having open ended pockets and being adapted to force the beets outwardly against said knives by centrifugal action during rotation to slice the beets.

2. In a beet slicing machine, the combinatlon of an outer casing forming a delivery hopper, a bed plate within said casing, a rotatable driving spindle extending through and above said bed plate, a series of guides secured to said plate and extending vertically, knife boxes slidably mounted in said guides, blind boxes also slidably mounted in said guides below said knife boxes, knives removably secured to said knife boxes, means for adjusting said knife boxes radially to adjustably positlon said knives to varythe thickness of the slice, adjustable positioning means on said blind boxes to limit downward position of said knife boxes and knives to vary the section of the slices, a runner mounted on said spindle and rotatable therewith, said runner having open ended pockets and being adapted to force the beets outwardly against said knives by centrifugal action during rotation to slice the beets.

Signed by me this 31st day of January,

DELPHIN H. SPICER. 

